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Wednesday

I am soooo into things that are DIY. If its my hair, my nails, any crafts projects....then I want learn and I want to do it. I have been venturing into nail art designs. I have picked up several new nail polishes and stripers to practice my nail designs. I work on nail art every week and post them on my personal FB page. Here are a few pictures I want to share with you guys. Let me know what you think.

Friday

It has been a while since I have blogged and made videos. I have been so busy with my crocheting business that I havent had much time to tweet, blog, or vlog like I use to. I am still kinda of busy but I am very good with time management. I have been doing great with my hair, but I will be doing kinky twist pretty soon as a protective style. I will be doing them myself (fingers crossed). I just can not pay almost 200 dollars for someone to do when I can learn and do it for myself for a couple of dollars for the hair.

After becoming natural, I am learning to do things myself. I no longer buy lotions, washcloths, hats, scarfs, earrings, hair products (I was a project junkie so I still have tons of products left over-maybe I'll do a video and show you guys-its crazy). But I enjoy learning new things and doing things for myself. I just got back into crocheting and I feel in love all over again. My new project is a hello kitty scarf or blanket (I am a HK fan to death-crazy). I am now working on an order to for crochet washcloths with another natural that makes her own hand soaps (cool).

Here is some progress with my hair. Pics show a twist out done during my BC in June 2011 and my twist out now Aug 2011 (two months later)

Wednesday

THE BRAIDS ARE OUT WOOOHOOOO!!!!! I will miss them BUT I am 100% natural. I am embracing the new me and owning my new look. I must say this is a HUGE change for me and it will definitely take a while to get use to. For the past two weeks, Ive been contemplating on whether or not I should take my braids out. I was sooo nervous because I didn't want to regret the decision. But as everyday past, I wanted to take it out. I kept seeing picture of natural girls with their TWA or curly fro and I was ready to show mine off. Yesterday, I woke up and just decided to just go for it. The day would of came anyway to take my braids out, so i just did it.

I have been taking care of my hair while in braids. So as I took them out, my hair was soft and easy to manage. I need to find a really good shampoo to wash my hair. I will list the products I use to wash, conditioner and moisturized my hair with.

I used Cantu Shea Butter Shampoo. It has a pH of 6.0, which I find most shampoo's have. I only washed my hair once with it and then rinsed it out with cold water. I conditioner my hair with Suave Natural Coconut Conditioner which has a pH of 6.0. I then added Aloe Vera Juice, which brought it to a pH of 5.0. I detangled my hair with a detangling comb from Sally's for about $2. I did deep conditioner my hair with a recipe I found for Naptural85 YT site. It was a mixture of mayo, apple cider vinegar, honey, eggs, and olive oil. It made my hair really hard and unmanageable, so I just co-washed my hair with my Suave conditioner mix. I then spritzed my hair with a mixture of glycerin, water, and peppermint essential oil which has a pH of 7. Then added a Tui Leave in Conditioner by Carol's Daughter, which has a pH of 4.0.

I styled my hair with EcoStyler Olive Oil Gel. It has a very high ph of 6.5, so I added Aloe Vera Juice, which brought it down to 5.0. I like the style but it made my hair really shrink, but still cute. I did trim my ends the best I could because there was still some pieces of relaxer still left over. Plus, I do need to get a good cut to shape my TWA a little better

Next day, I spritz my hair with my glycerin mix, and Tui Leave in Conditioner, some coconut oil and my shea butter mixture. And just pretty much fluffed my hair out and put a headband to make a small puff.

I am so excited to see the progress of my journey and photo video coming soon of my progression. Thanks for the support loves....muah

Saturday

Essential oils contained in plants are really their life force and are the fragrant constituents found in plants. In plants, these oils are ingredients of hormonal growth and reproduction. Many essential oils have a very beneficial effect on hair growth. Studies suggest that one or more of the essential oils are biologically able to promote hair growth. Essential oils for hair growth are excellent for cleansing, nourishing, and strengthening the hair follicle and shaft. These essential oils for hair growth stimulate the hair follicles to grow faster than the hair would normally. Here is the list of some essential oils for hair growth you can use them depending on your specific need.

Jojoba Essential Oil for Hair Growth

Jojoba essential oil can be used with any hair and skin type. The healing qualities of jojoba oil are beneficial for extremely damaged or breaking hair. This truly is one of the best essential oils for hair loss due to breakage

Burdock Essential Oil for Hair Growth

Burdock essential oil is good for the scalp and encourages hair growth. It is also good for the skin, scalp and hair cell renewal, and stimulates blood flow to the root of the hair. It helps with the problem of hair loss.

Rosemary and Clary Sage essential oils For Hair Growth

Rosemary encourages hair growth. These two herbs when used together externally prove extremely beneficial to anyone wanting to grow their hair. For best results, take a pan of water and boil rosemary, sage, peach leaf, nettle and burdock. Strain the loose herbs from the liquid and wash your hair with this liquid everyday. Clary sage when combined with jojoba and applied to the roots of your hair can cause your hair to grow.

Tea Tree Essential Oil for Hair Growth

Tea tree oil is one of the most versatile essential oils for hair growth when it comes to hair treatments. This oil moisturizes the hair and minimizes oil production of the scalp, preventing greasy looking hair and leaving the scalp clean and dandruff-free. A few drops of tea tree oil can be added to olive oil for a mild but effective weekly treatment to deal with dandruff problems.

Basil and Peppermint Essential oils for Hair Growth

Basil helps circulation of blood and works well in combination with fenugreek and ivy burdock herbs. Basil helps in growth of oily hair. Peppermint helps to stimulate blood flow to the root of your hair and so give it good nourishment and grow well. It helps in growth of dry hair. It is good for your hair if it grows slowly or if it is thinning.

Lavender Essential Oil for Hair Growth

Lavender essential oil is used to treat a variety of conditions including alopecia (hair loss). It has been shown to promote the growth of hair and increase the rate of wound healing. In a study it was found that people suffering from alopecia who massaged their scalps with lavender and other essential oils daily for 7 months experienced significant hair re-growth. Thus lavender or a combination of lavender and other essential oils were responsible for the beneficial effects.

Olive Oils for Hair Growth

Olive oil can be combined with other nice smelling essential oils and is especially beneficial for dry hair. Olive oil helps in growth of dry hair. The hair is nourished and will regain its elasticity after a treatment with this oil. Apply the oil to towel dry hair and leave on for at least half an hour.

Bay Essential Oil for Hair Growth

This essential oil helps in growing your hair. If you have dull and lifeless hair, it will restore it with life and shine.

Add six drops of bay and lavender essential oil to four ounces of warm carrier oil. Massage the mixture into the scalp and allow it to absorb for 20 minutes. Then wash with your regular shampoo, to which you've added three drops of bay essential oil. If you're plagued with dandruff problems or if you have aches and pains, use this oil for pain relief.

I tend to add peppermint, lavender and rosemary to all my concoctions and or mixtures. I tend to use tea tree oil for my face since it is a antiseptic, which cleans the face from acne and blackheads,

Apple cider vinegar applied to the scalp as a hair rinse is a natural remedy for hair growth because it removes any dead skin cells and bacteria that clog the pores and prevent healthy hair growth. It regulates the acid balance and gives hair a stable place to grow

Combine

1 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups of water.

In the shower, pour rinse throughout hair and massage it into the scalp for 2 to 3 minutes. Shampoo and condition as usual.

Friday

How many of you natural bellas use coconut milk as a deep conditioner or added into shampoo. I have heard some really great things about coconut milk. I am learning how to make my own products and an official coconut junkie, I think it would be a great addition to my recipes. I did some research on benefits of coconut milk for your hair....and also provided some recipes to whip up in the kitchen

Coconut milk is a thick, creamy and fatty substance extracted from coconuts. It is high in proteins, vitamins A and E and many other vitamins which help to strengthen the hair and minimize the amount of breakage you may have had. Coconut milk is great for hydrating, moisturizing, repairing and healing hair and the skin.

Coconut milk is rich in proteins and is great for protecting the hair against harmful UV rays and helps to prevent frizz. Coconut milk is sufficient to put directly onto the hair but, try mixing with your favorite conditioner for more vitamins, luster and moisture. Remember, coconut milk is rich in proteins so it's not necessary to mix with a protein enriched conditioner.

I have been doing more research for these past couple of days and came across a topic of pH balance. I never really knew about PH balance and what it truly means to our natural hair. I was watching a fellow youtuber, kimmaytube and obtained some very useful knowledge about getting to know the structure of our hair and the importance of pH balance. She has a 5 part video series, which goes into depth about our hair, what is PH balance, and the importance to our hair. I will share some of those tips for you guys!

Structure of Hair A strand of hair has three components: (1) the cuticle - the outer layer, (2) the cortex - the middle layer, and (3) the medulla - the inner layer. The cortex gives flexibility and tensile strength to hair and contains melanin (giving hair its color). Without melanin, the partly hollow hair appears grey.

What is PH? The PH level is one of the most important balance systems of the body. The term pH stands for the potential of hydrogen. It is the amount of hydrogen ions in a particular solution. The more ions, the more acidic the solution. The fewer ions the more alkaline (base) the solution. The pH level is a measure of acidity or alkalinity on a scale of zero to fourteen, with zero being the acidic, fourteen being most alkaline and seven being mid-range.

Water has a pH balance of 7, which is neutral. Battery is the most acidic, and sodium hydroxide, which is used as what we know as relaxer, is the most alkaline. These chemicals are DANGEROUS to our hair.

PH and Our Hair!The natural oil that our hair secretes is a natural oil called sebum. Sebum maintains the moisture and balance in our hair. The hairs natural pH balance is between 4.5 and 5.5 scale. To know what products to use in your hair, you have to know the right level of pH for your hair. For example, the pH of hair(4.5 to5.5) is close to 2.9, which is the pH of Apple Cider Vinegar. Rinsing your hair with AVC will help balance the pH of your hair and remove the buildup from products. Some products such as sulfate shampoo, conditioners, hair colors, permanents and bleaches are strongly alkaline, which can put our tresses in a stressful state as the pH of these products is way off from the pH of hair.

Alkaline solutions opens the cuticles and acidic solutions close the cuticles. Basically, Alkaline solutions open the cuticles (the outer most layer of the hair) allowing the protein structure to changed causing it to loosen and retain too much water. Acidic solutions has the opposite effect, closing the cuticles, allowing moisture to be retained.

The goal you want to reach with your hair pH is choosing products that leave the pH of the hair alone or move slightly toward an acidic direction, in order for the cuticles to close (lay flat). So after washing, your hair, you want to use products that will keep your hair in the safe range of a pH balance of 4.5 to 6. Since water is more alkaline than you hair, with a pH of 7 (neutral), you want to use an acidifier to close the cuticles (retain moisture). Some great acidifiers are, Apple Cider Vinegar, when properly diluted has a pH of 4.0 and Aloe Vera Juice with a pH of 4.0-4.5. These products, after washing your hair, will bring your hair back to pH level.

Kimmaytube has a great leave in conditioner recipe that she uses to keep her hair pH balanced after washing.

Mix well. The result is a very creamy leave-in that measures at 4.0pH according to my test strips. I use it immediately on wet hair right after washing and conditioning it, which I do once a week.My ThoughtsI will definitely be investing in getting pH test strips, since I do make my own homemade hair care products. I would love to experiment to see the pH levels of the products I am putting into my hair. This information was so helpful in learning about hair, not just natural hair. We must make sure that we are using products that does not disrupt the pH levels, which can lead to damaged hair. If we chose products that are pH balanced, it will lead to healthier and longer natural hair #WIN. I will also be trying Kimmaytube's leave in conditioner recipe and see how it will work for my hair. I will also make a video using the pH test strips on some of my homemade products and store bought as well, making sure I am treating my hair right.

Tell me your thoughts and if you do make your own products/mixtures/concoctions, I would love to know the pH levels of your homemade hair care products. If you want more of a visual demonstration of this topic, which goes further into depth, please visit Kimmaytube youtube site, this chick is the BOMB!! Here is her playlist on the structure of our hair. Enjoy.http://www.youtube.com/user/kimmaytube#g/c/5532B6CD987E1D88

Sunday

I've been doing tons of research on different types of oils and their benefits for natural hair. I had no idea how much information there was about carrier oils, essential oils and other products that benefit your hair journey. Starting this new journey to becoming natural, this information has been very useful when making my mixtures for my hair. I posted two news video on YouTube about some oils and other products that you can use to make your own concoctions, and the benefits they provide for you hair. Most oils and products promote hair growth, strength, prevents dandruff, relieves dryness, provides moisture, and boost the overall health of your natural hair.

I got most of the products in this video at a Natural Food Store or Whole Foods. You can definitely buy these products off the Internet, such as eBay (which my mom's does) or amazon. I can see myself becoming a PJ (product junkie) because soon as I see another product or review, I want to have it. But, I am definitely liking making my own homemade products because I have more control over what I am putting in my hair. I do like products from NOW Foods because they are really affordable, or Spectrum or Nutiva for the Coconut Oil. All products depending on the size ranging from $5-$20 in price and depends on what your getting as well.

As far as shelf life, I have done some research on the shelf life of your carrier oils and essential oils. Carrier oils do go rancid over a period of time. So, make sure you store them in a cool, dark place and out of direct sunlight. Carrier oils will have a fowl smell once they go rancid, and the easiest way to tell, is by comparing the smell to another carrier oil that you know hasn't gone bad.

Check out the video on the benefits of these products for your hair. Thanks

Bella Me

Hey Guys, this is my first time blogging and vlogging and I am pretty excited to start a new journey in my life. I have decided to go natural about 6 months ago. I have had tons on inspiration and motivation to start the journey of becoming natural. I want to be an inspiration for someone else to start this journey and to free themselves from the world's sigma on relax hair.